Fatal Collision in North Potomac

Investigators said 17-year-old Dawen Li, of Gaithersburg, had been
riding on a bicycle westbound on Travilah Road when he did not stop at
a stop sign at the intersection and was struck by a car.

I'm not sure if Dawen Li was an immigrant or not, but I believe Mr. Carlos was.

The minority population in Fairfax continues to be disproportionately
affected by the pedestrian deaths, according to the statistics.

Which brings me to this article which is about Long Island but is probably equally accurate here.

In a region where almost everyone drives, Hispanic residents, many of
them poor and without cars, are victims of pedestrian and bike
fatalities in disproportionate numbers.

About 10 percent of Long Islanders are Hispanic. Hispanics made up 43 percent of Nassau County's 35 pedestrian deaths in
2002, and 35 percent of the fatalities last year, according to
statistics from the New York State Department of Health and the Nassau
County Medical Examiner. In neighboring Suffolk County, Hispanics
accounted for 21 percent of the 28 fatal pedestrian accidents in 2002
and 30 percent of the 44 deaths in 2003, according to the State Health
Department and Suffolk's medical examiner. There was no breakdown on
Hispanics involved in fatal bike accidents.

Those statistics get at an evolving suburban truth: As more and more
Hispanics move into the suburbs, they risk injury or death because they
walk and ride bicycles in a place where the roads are often dark, the
sidewalks scarce and traffic menacing.

Some die as they bicycle down four-lane highways. Others are recent
immigrants unaccustomed to the pace and rules of New York traffic, and
they are struck crossing against a traffic signal.

According to 2000 census data, Hispanics on Long Island are twice as
likely as whites to walk to work, and six times more likely to ride a
bike or take the bus, a trip that usually involves a few blocks' walk
to and from the bus stop. "This is part of their desperate situation,"
said the Rev. Allan Ramirez, who works with Hispanic immigrants on Long
Island. "They have no choice but to walk to many of these places. If
they're lucky, they get a bicycle. They're on the road, they're on the
street."

Which is not a way of saying we need fewer immigrants, but more targeted education. Street Smart ads on Spanish language radio for example.

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I'll say it again- cars do not want to share the roads w/ cyclists. That's why in Europe & in other places it was figured out LONG AGO that dedicated bikeways are a great thing.People driving on rt 7 or Columbia Pike or whereever at 60-80 MPH are not going to want to slow down for a bicyclist... even for a racer.

David (Dawen) is an immigrant, but not a recent one. In this case it could not be his fault. I knew him, he is very intelligent and careful. If you look at the location and the facts of the incident, it would become obvious that it couldn't have been inevitable, from the driver's side. I believe the problem was the driver's age (82). David was well educated and smart.
I just do not feel comfortable with you using him as an example in this particular article without really knowing the facts.

I'm terribly sorry for your loss. This must be difficult for you. I did not mean to insinuate that David was unintelligent or careless or even that it was his fault. I only said what was reported in the paper. If you have other facts I'd love to get them out there. That being said, the fact that immigrants suffer a disproportionate number of bicycle and pedestrian fatalities is a serious problem and one for which a solution (or set of solutions) should be found.

this makes me ill. My eyes have welled up with tears. im so sorry, for all of us. 82 year old driver??...in that area? (people drive like it's a racetrack..)

my 17 year old daughter challenged me to stop complaining about being harassed on the roads, and pursue through proper channels those that have attacked me in their cars. I have four cases in four separate districts in DC in process. This is in DC where they are mounting a campaign against agressive driving (seen the brochures?...)! ha ha ha

Having been in and out of police stations for two months -- thats right, even though, in a representative case, I have positive ID on the three thugs who threw a bottle at me and yelled epithets -- i can tell you that the police are well intentioned but do not have the resources to do anything about bicycle safety/bicyclists rights, UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED. the many many cops I talk to just laugh about the hands free DC law-- and we all know that you ride a bike for 5 minutes in DC and see MANY drivers on the phone, speeding, and even worse, tailgating (cuts the sight distance down so that they then come MUCH too close to me, even when in a bike lane...

Bottom line: the USA is in a quality of life free- fall. It is nowhere near Europe as a menaingful democracy (we cant even get voting moved to the weekends!) and eruope sure as hell aint no paradise!!

I knew Dawen also. He was an intelligent young man and a great friend. Yes he was an immigrant, but had lived in the US for some time. The road/area he was biking on also has caused numerous fatalities due to poor construction of the roads and no sidewalks.